Exploring Coverage of the 2008 Irish Dioxin Crisis in the Irish and UK Newsprint Media

The 2008 dioxin crisis occurred as a result of contamination of Irish pork. The event had significant implications for Ireland’s economy and the reputation of its agricultural industry, as well as raising concerns for human health. This study describes the results of a content analysis of Irish and UK newspaper coverage of the 2008 Irish dioxin crisis, as this is likely to provide insight into how public perceptions of this issue were shaped. Articles from 16 print publications were systematically sampled for the period December 2008 to February 2009. The resulting data set of 141 articles was examined using a coding protocol developed based on previous research and refined during piloting. Results indicated that the dioxin crisis was primarily portrayed by the media as an industry/economic crisis, dominant in 26.9% of articles in the sample. Within this dominant portrayal, the agricultural industry was frequently cited as being in crisis (42.6%); however, the implications of the crisis on the wider economic environment also received attention (17.7%). Differences between Irish and UK-based media were also examined, revealing that while the Irish media most frequently described the crisis in terms of its impact on the industry and economy, the UK media were more likely to portray the crisis as a risk to health. These dominant media messages and message framings have implications for the public understanding of the issue in each country and potential consequences regarding perception of the adequacy of existing food policy and regulatory oversight.     

Association of Hypoalbuminemia on the First Postoperative Day and Complications Following Esophagectomy

Objective Changes in serum albumin may reflect systemic immunoinflammation and hypermetabolism in response to insults such as trauma and sepsis. Esophagectomy is associated with a major metabolic stress, and the aim of this study was to determine if the absolute albumin level on the first postoperative day was of value in predicting in-hospital complications. Methods A retrospective study of 200 patients undergoing esophagectomy for malignant disease at St. James Hospital between 1999 and 2005 was performed. Patients who had pre and postoperative (days 1, 3, and 7) serum albumin levels measured were included in the study. Patients were subdivided into three postoperative albumin categories <20 g/l, 20–25 g/l, >25 g/l. Logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate the odds of morbidity and mortality according to the day 1 albumin level. Results Patients with an albumin of less than 20 g/l on the first postoperative day were twice as likely to develop postoperative complications than those with an albumin of greater than 20 g/l (54 vs 28% respectively, p < 0.011). Correspondingly, these patients also had a significantly higher rate of Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (22 vs 5%, p < 0.001), respiratory failure (27 vs 8%, p < 0.01) and in-hospital mortality (27 vs 6% (p < 0.001). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, day 1 albumin level was independently related to postoperative complications (odds ratios, 0.89: 95%; confidence intervals, 0.83–0.96; p < 0.005). In addition, albumin <20 g/l on the first postoperative day was associated with the need for further surgery and a return to ICU. Conclusion Serum albumin concentration on the first postoperative day is a better predictor of surgical outcome than many other preoperative risk factors. It is a low cost test that may be used as a prognostic tool to detect the risk of adverse surgical outcomes.     

Obesity: A public health problem in Ireland?

We examined the prevalence of different categories of body weight in a random sample of men and women aged 35 to 64 years studied in 1985 in County Kilkenny, Ireland. The largest group was those classified as overweight — 51.1% of men and 44.7 % of women. There were 13.7 % of men and 19.2% of women in the obese category. The obese were older but the distribution by social class did not differ significantly from the non-obese. Obese women had significantly more children born alive and a higher prevalence of positive angina questionnaire than those who were not obese. Serum total cholesterol was higher in obese men and HDL cholesterol was lower in obese men and obese women. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly higher in obese men and women but smoking status was similar. In a multiple logistic regression analysis, systolic blood pressure in men and diastolic in women remained significantly associated with obesity; there was an inverse association between obesity and HDL cholesterol in women and between obesity and HDL-cholesterol as a proportion of total cholesterol in men.     

Complications of needle localization of foreign bodies and nonpalpable breast lesions

Needle-wire localization of foreign bodies and nonpalpable breast lesions is commonly used to allow for more accurate excision or biopsy. We present three examples of complications of the localization procedure: (1) wire migration into the chest wall with retained fragment, (2) transection of a wire during biopsy with retained hook fragment, and (3) wire migration within the thigh soft tissues with breakage at the hooked end. Recommendations to minimize the incidence of these complications and their sequelae include (1) bending the hookwire 90 degree at the skin surface following localization, (2) transferring the patient between the radiology suite and the operating room via a stretcher, with minimal movement of the body part localized, and (3) accounting for the entire length of wire by the surgeon, pathologist, and radiologist following the procedure to exclude retained fragments.     

Data-Driven Dietary Patterns,Nutrient Intake and Body Weight Status in a Cross-Section of Singaporean Children Aged 6–12 Years

Pattern analysis of children’s diet may provide insights into chronic disease risk in adolescence and adulthood. This study aimed to assess dietary patterns of young Singaporean children using cluster analysis. An existing dataset included 15,820 items consumed by 561 participants (aged 6–12 years) over 2 days of dietary recall. Thirty-seven food groups were defined and expressed as a percentage contribution of total energy. Dietary patterns were identified using k-means cluster analysis. Three clusters were identified, “Western”, “Convenience” and “Local/hawker”, none of which were defined by more prudent dietary choices. The “Convenience” cluster group had the lowest total energy intake (mean 85.8 ± SD 25.3% of Average Requirement for Energy) compared to the other groups (95.4 ± 25.9% for “Western” and 93.4 ± 25.3% for “Local/hawker”, p < 0.001) but also had the lowest calcium intake (66.3 ± 34.7% of Recommended Dietary Allowance), similar to intake in the “Local/hawker” group (69.5 ± 38.9%) but less than the “Western” group (82.8 ± 36.1%, p < 0.001). These findings highlight the need for longitudinal analysis of dietary habit in younger Singaporeans in order to better define public health messaging targeted at reducing risk of major noncommunicable disease.     

Compounding Stress: Childhood Adversity as a Risk Factor for Adulthood Trauma Exposure in the Health and Retirement Study

Childhood adversity (CA) and adulthood traumatic experiences (ATEs) are common and unequally distributed in the general population. Early stressors may beget later stressors and alter life‐course trajectories of stressor exposure. Gender differences exist regarding the risk of specific stressors. However, few studies have examined the associations between specific types of CA and ATEs. Using a large‐scale sample of older adults, we aimed to (a) determine if specific or cumulative CA increased the risk for specific or cumulative ATEs and (b) examine whether these associations were moderated by gender. In a sample from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (N = 15,717; M_age = 67.57 years, SD = 10.54), cross‐sectional Poisson and logistic regression models were fitted to assess the specific and cumulative associations between CA and ATEs. Overall, cumulative CA was associated with a larger risk ratio of ATEs, adjusted for covariates: aRRRs = 1.28, 1.63, and 1.97 for 1, 2, and 3–4 adverse events in childhood, respectively. Cumulative CA was particularly strongly associated with adulthood physical attacks, aOR = 5.66, and having a substance‐abusing spouse or child, aOR = 4.00. Childhood physical abuse was the strongest independent risk factor for cumulative ATEs, aRRR = 1.49, and most strongly associated with adulthood physical attacks, aOR = 3.41. Gender moderated the association between cumulative CA and cumulative ATEs, with slightly stronger associations between cumulative CA and ATEs for women than men. Given that CA and ATEs perpetuate health disparities worldwide, reducing their incidence and effects should be major priorities for public health.     

Occult fracture patterns of the knee associated with anterior cruciate ligament tears: assessment with MR imaging.

One hundred consecutive magnetic resonance (MR) images of the knee in patients with acute complete anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears were reviewed to evaluate the prevalence and patterns of associated occult fractures. Eighty-nine occult fractures were identified in 56 knees. All occult fractures were in the posterior aspect of the lateral tibial plateau. Of these, occult fractures were isolated in 24 cases (43%) and were in combination with fractures in the middle aspect of the lateral femoral condyle in 26 (46%), with fractures in the posterior aspect of the medial tibial plateau in four (7%), and with fractures involving all three areas in one (2%). Disruption of the ACL under valgus stress leads to anterior translation of the tibia and relative external rotation of the femur. This allows impaction of the posterior portion of the lateral tibial plateau against the middle of the lateral femoral condyle and accounts for the unique pattern of occult fractures associated with ACL tears. An occult fracture of the posterior lateral tibial plateau with or without an associated fracture in the lateral femoral condyle ("kissing contusion") is a relatively frequent finding in acute ACL tears and, when present, is highly suggestive of such an associated tear.